We have moved a number of large, old rhodies, usually in the wintertime, and the only one that has died is one I gave away to someone who didn't look after it in its new location. The last one we moved was picked up in a front end loader, dumped in the back of a truck and transported uncovered, 35 miles to its new location in a new garden. This is its first spring in its new home and it looks wonderful and is beginning to flower. We dug up the biggest rootball we could but it was extremely heavy dragging it on a tarp to the waiting tractor. I have also pruned old rhodies very severely mostly with good results, but it does take a few years for them to bloom again. They are so happy in our PNW climate they seem to adapt very well

I've moved many, some that big. The key is to keep them very moist the first summer. The only ones I've lost were allowed to wilt. They have small, shallow root systems and are pretty easy to move.

I have moved some pretty big ones, but only in the fall/early winter, never in spring or summer. What I have always done, and it's probably wrong, but I dig a 4 or 5" deep very wide hole and use composted soil and fine bark to fill in and I mulch with pure fine beauty bark. I have had more than a few do much better in flower and foliage after being located in a more suitable location.

Cut around the sod-like roots with a spade and pop it up, drag it to the new spot. Cut all the way around before lifting up, do not stab the spade in and then pry each time as this breaks the ball. If roots big and deep enough you may also have to trench next to it on one or more sides, cut across horizontally with the spade to cut the bottom of the ball loose. With heavy specimens it's also not a bad thing to have a ramp dug out on one side so you can drag it out of the hole without any lifting.

If new growth is not flushing yet this year it can still be moved.

Water liberally to get it through the spring and summer.

Rhodies are shallowed rooted and the best time to move them is when they are in bloom. I read that somewhere years ago.

klew
Ciscoe,a Seattle Area Gardening Talk Show Host on KIRO(FM97.3) has stated that the best time to transplant Rhodies is shortly after they drop their flowers.
Jim

A number of mature rhodies have just been bulldozed in my neigborhood, along with other ornamental shrubs & trees (dogwoods, etc.). One rhody was a twin-trunked specimen, right across the street from my house, that was about 18'-20' tall. It's sickening to see plants like that trashed. The DOT now owns the area and will "someday" extend Hwy. 509 to connect to I-5 in this location. They are currently out of funding and it will likely be a number of years before they actually do this freeway project. For now, they're bulldozing the property & will fence it off. The joys of progress.

Thanks, everyone. With all this advice, I'm sure we'll be successful one way or another.

klew

Rhodies really are quite resilient as long as you keep the roots fairly intact and prepare the new site properly.

This specimen made the journey from Thane's place up in Newport Hills of Bellevue to my place in Kent when Thane asked if someone on this forum would like it. It was so large it protruded 2-3' out of the largest UHaul trailer I could rent. This is year two since the move and the birds shall be forever grateful. I've had to do selective pruning to pigeonhole it in and to keep the squirrels from using it as a launching pad to access the bird feeders. Every single bird you could imagine uses this as a heliport to and from my garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1078079}}